Game apparatus.



. L. BLUM & J. KRUSE.

GAME APPARATUS. v APPLICATION FILED NOV. 3, 19 l3. I v v Patented Aug. 17, 1915.

4 SHEETS-SHED: 3.

A E Ham itnesszs: 7'4 Eunvnturs I IL. BLUM & KRUSE.

V GAME APPARATUS.

. APPLICATION FILED NOV-3 l9l3- 4 SHEETS- -SHEET 4- v 64 68 73 72 V 1 a; 6 I 1 7 1 2910.

inn-5s" 2% 2} v 2 4'4 mgunentut s Patented Aug. 17, 1915.

Specification of Letters Patent.

GAME APPA RATUS.

Application filed November 3, 1918. Serial No. 798,910.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, LOUIS BLUM and JOHN KRUSE, citizens of Switzerland and the United States of America, respectively, and residents of St. Louis, Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Game Apparatus, of which the following is a specification containing a full,

' clear, and exact description, reference being 3-3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a sectional eleva-.

had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof. v

Our present invention has relatlon to 1mprovements in game apparatus; and 1t consists in the novel arrangement and combination of parts more fully set forth in the specification and In the drawings, Figure 1 shows in plan a game apparatus constructed according to our invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus, with the glazed top, the game board, the ball. release and the lock for the operating lever removed; Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional elevation taken on the line tion taken at right angles to Fig. 3 and on the line H of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail sectional elevation of the ball delivery mechanism; F ig. 6-is an enlarged plan illustrating in detail the operating lever and its release and the means for spinning the ball delivering mechanism; Fig. 7 is a sectional elevation taken on the line 7 7 of Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is a fragmental plan view illustrating a partially resilient toothed sector for the spinning mechanism; Fig. 9 shows in detail a modified form of release for the operating lever; Fig. 10 is a sectional elevation taken on the line l010 of Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is an enlarged detail plan view showing the pawl and ratchet connection between thefmanually driven pinion and the ball spinning disk; and Fig. 12 is a sectional elevation of the mechanism shown .in Fig. 11.

The primary object of our invention is to generally improve the construction of the game apparatus, shown in the United States Letters Patent N 0. 728,317 granted to Charles 0. Sobinski, on the 19th day of May 1903, which patent we now control, in order to more nearly approach the principal characteristics of the great Amerlcan game of base ball. I

economy of structure we pointed out in th'e claims.

view

In detail our invention may be described as follows:

Referring by numerals to the accompanying drawin s 15 designates the side walls and 16 the bottom of the casing of our game apparatus, preferably of rectangular shape and 17 designates a circular wall rising from the bottom 16 at a point eccentric to the bottom 16 plane of the uppermost margins of-the side walls 15. To facilitate assembling and for preferably form the sldewalls, the bottomand the circular wall as an integral unit.

' Secured to the side walls 15 at or near their upper margins is a in a plane beneath and the glazed cover 18 is the game board proper 19, having on its upper surface a miniature representation of a base ball diamond 20, including a pitchers box 21 and a home plate 22. The home plate is by preference the lowest point clines toward this spaced apart from point.

' Patented Aug.'1'7, 1915. l

and to a plane beneath the and the entire board inglazed cover 18 and designates bearings beneath the game 7' board 19 in which is slidably supported an intercepting plate 24. Formed in the game board 19 and in the intercepting plate v2 1 are the openings 25 and 26 of identical arrangement so that when desired for purposes hereinafter made clear all of the openlngs will register.

designates a deflector arranged beneath and spaced apart from the intercepting plate 24, this deflector is dish shaped and is imperforate except for the opening 28 which overlies the area bounded by thecircular wall17.

Formed in. the bottom 16 of the casing,

concentric with the circular wall 17 is a bearing 29 and spanning the circular wall over the bearing 29 is a bridge 30 having therein a threaded seat 31 carrying a set screw 32 in the lowermost end of which there is a bearing vertically alining with the bearing 29 and .rotatably mounted in the bearing 29 and the bearing carried by the screw 32 is a shaft 33.

Carried by and rotatable with the shaft 33 is a disk 34 having adjacent its periphery an abutment 35 serving the function of a positive drive for a ball 36 which is the active, functionate element of our game.

" is pivotally secured a board 19.

mental rack 48 arranged cured to the Extending laterally from the bridge 30 to a point ad acent and beneath the pitchers box 21 is an arm 37 and pivotally mounted at the free end of said arm is an inclined 39 which extend to the disk tines are located on either side of the path of travel of the abutment 35.

Formed in the intercepting plate-24 and in the game board proper19 over the uppermost end of the ball elevator 38 and at the pitchers box are registering openlngs 40 and 41 and pivotally mounted 1n the opening 41 of the game board is a leaf or trap door 42 which normally forms a continuity of the game board surface, but is of such weight as to permit the ball 36 to rise over the elevator 38 from the disk 34 to the game Mounted loosely on the shaft 33 beneath the disk 34 is a ratchet wheel 43 and secured to rotate with the ratchet wheel and loosely mounted on the shaft 33 is a pinion 44. Arranged for engagement with the ratchet wheel 43 is a pair of oppositely arranged spring held pawls 45 which are secured to a plate 46 carried by the disk 34.

Mounted for oscillation, on a pin 46 secured to the bottom 16 of the casing, is a plate 47, having at its outer free end a segto engage at times the pinion 44 associated with the disk 34, and carried by the plate 47 is an elastic arm 49 carrying at its free end a number of teeth 50 forming a yielding portion of the segmental rack. 4

Rotatably supported in a bearing formed in one of the side Walls of the casing, near the point of the pivotal support of the plate 47, is a shaft 51, and embracing the shaft outside the casing is a housing 52 inclosing a helical spring 53, having its one end sehousing'and its other end secured to the shaft. At the outer end of the shaft next adjacent the housing is an operating lever 54, and at the inner end of the shaft within the casing is a lever 55 to which detent 56 arranged to en age a boss .57 carried by the plate 47.

he free end of the detent 56beyond the point 53 of engagement with the boss 57 is beveled, as shown at 58, so that the detent 56, as a whole, when moved by the operating lever is made to ride over an adjustable point 59- which serves to elevate the point 56 of the detent over the boss 57 after each operation in order to permit the boss to return to a position in advance of the point 56 'of the detent and in order to free the said point of the detent from said boss.

60 designates a contractile coil spring secured to the bottom of the casing and to the plate 47 whose function is to normally hold the plate 47 against a stop 61, with the boss 57 in a position to be engaged by the detent 56, and which spring serves tomove the seg-- mental rack, after it'has been freed from the detent to operate thapinion;

62 designates .a coil spring arranged to act upon the detent 56 to hold it in position to engage the boss 57, for a length of ,movethe position of the adend beneath the shoulder 63 of the detent, so

that the detent is held in a plane above the boss 57 and to the end that the operating lever is normally idle or may be moved without effecting an operation of the balldelivering mechanism. Formed in the release rod 64 at. its end opposite the detent 56 is an eye 66 and inserted in said eye is an arm 67 of a rockshaft 68, mounted in bearings 69 projecting inwardly from the side wall of the casing opposite the operating lever 54. On the rock-shaft 68 oppositely disposed relative to the arm 67 is an arm 70 which may be moved either manually or by a coin for the release of the detent 56.

We do not contemplate employing both the coin and manual release on the same game apparatus but for a matter of convenience and to economize in drawings we have in Figs. 9 and 10' shown both of the releases on the same apparatus.

The manual release comprises a shaft 71 projecting through the wall of the casing whereat is secured a lever 72, for the rotation of the shaft, and an eccentric 73 arranged to engage and rock the rock-shaft 68 through the medium of the arm 70.

The coin release comprises a coin guide 74 secured outside the casing parallel with the rock-shaft and contiguous to the arm 70 thereof, in the top plate of the guide there is an opening 75 whereby coins may be placed within the guide. and formed in the wall of the casing there is anopening 76 communicating with the guide.

Arranged to traverse the opening 75 and slidable within the coin guide is a plunger 77 and within the path of the coins moved by said plunger is a finger 78 which rides through an opening in the wall of the casing and is secured to the arm 70 of the rock with the toothed plate by an arm 81 carried by the release rod 64.

the game board 19. Secured to the interceptingplate and projecting through the casing is a rod 83, having at its outer end a knob 84, which may be manipulated in opposition to the spring 82 to bring the openngs 25 and 26 to register.

85 designates a vertical shaft having bearings in the bottom of the casing and in a strap 86 supported in a plane above the bottom of the casing. The uppermost end of the shaft projects through the game board 19 at a point removed a short distance laterally from the home plate 22 and secured to said upper end of the shaft is a batter 87-, preferably in the form of a ball player in uniform, holding an extended bat 88, which bat has secured thereto a depending wing89. Secured to the shaft 85 is anarm 90 located between the bearings for the shaft, and connected with the arm 90 is an eccentric strap 91 leading to and embracing an eccentric 92 carried by the shaft 33 which carries the ball delivering disk 34. I

An example of. the operation of our ap aratus is as follows: Assuming the ball to be on the disk 34, the release rod 64 holding the detent 56 out of engagement with the boss 57, the operating lever held elevated by the helical spring 53 and the segmental rack 48 out of engagement with the pinion 44, the inltial step is to move the release rod 64 to release the detent 56 to permit it to be brought by the spring 62 to a position in advance of the boss 57 on the plate 47 carrying the segmental rack 48. The secondstep is to depress the operating lever which depression movesthe lever 55 and detent 56 to effect an operation of the plate 47 having the segmental rack, through the medium of the boss 57. This operation of the segmental rack, by reason of the pawl and ratchet devices is without effect on the rotating disk. After the detent has moved the segmental rack to its onelimit of movement the detent is freed from the plate carrying the rack and the spring 60 moves the rack in 'a direction to effect a spinning of the diskofthe ball delivery mechanism. By centrifugal force the ball 36 is moved toward the periphery of the disk where it is engaged by the abutment 35 and driven thereby upwardly over the ball elevator 38 with sufficient inertia to elevate the trap door 42 and be directed toward the batter 87.

During all of the time the disk ofthe ball delivering mechanism is rotated the batter is oscillated through the medium of the'eccentric 92 which is connected with the batter through the arm 90 andeccentric strap 91.

the shoulder from the release all of the timethe release rod Thuswhen the ball is delivered the batter is in operation to strike the ball and drive it toone or the other of the openings in the game board where it willlodge and be held by the intercepting plate 24.

In order to permit a free spinning of the disk the segmental rack is disengaged from the pinion after a movement of the operating lever, hence the pinion is rotated with the disk, and for the reason that the pinion may stop at a positi'og with its teeth in position to climb the teeth of the segmental rack, we have provided the yielding portion 50 of the segmental rack, which will automatically br' g the teeth of the pinion to registerwiththe teeth of the segmental rack.

When the release rod is operated and the detent falls the release rod is held withdrawn by the shoulder 63 carried-by-the detent u'ntil-such time as the operating lever has been moved to its limit of movement lifted to free whereupon the detentwill be rod. 'During is held with drawn the spring held pawl is engaging the toothed late 79 thereby obviating more than one e mental rack upon a single release of the detent which'moves the segmental rack.

To return the ball to the delivering mechanism the intercepting plate is moved to bring its openings in registry with the openings in the game board and the ball dropped to the deflector over which it moves by gravity to the opening therein over the disk of the delivery apparatus. The spring 82 then moves the intercepting plate to its initial position and the game apparatus is again in condition for operation.

aving thus described our invention What we claim as new therein and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States therefor is:

1. In a game apparatus, a game board, a ball striking element above the game board, and means located beneath the game board for forcibly delivering a ball upwardly through an opening in the game board and in a direction toward the striking element.

In a game apparatus, a game board having an openingtherein, a trap normally ective movement of the se forming a continuitvof the game board surforcibly deliver points on the game board and means for returning the ball to the delivering mechas oscillating ball striking element and means connecting said disk with said element whereby when the disk is rotated the element is oscillated.

5. In a game apparatus, a game board having an opening therein, a ball delivering mechanism comprising a rotatable disk beneath the game board and a pivoted ball elevator between said disk and opening.

6. In a game apparatus, ball delivering and striking devices, a manually operable lever, a gear between said lever and said devices and a releasable means for normally holding the gear inoperative so that .the lever may be moved without efiect on the ball delivering and striking devices.

7 In agame apparatus, a rotatable disk. a pinion, a ratchet connection between said pinion and disk, a segmental rack and a resilient, toothed element forming a part of said rack.

8. In a game apparatus, a game board having an opening therein, a trap normally forming a continuity of the'game board surface and a ball delivering mechanism be-' neath the game board arranged to .forcibly deliver a ball through said trap.

'9. In a game apparatus, a game board, a

ball delivering mechanism arranged beneath and occupying a lesser area than the game board, means for releasably holding a ball at difi'erent points throughout the" game board and means for returning the ball to the delivering mechanism from any point of release from the game board.

7 10. In a game apparatus, a game board having an opening therethrough, a revoluble element beneath the game board, ment on said revoluble element, a furcated device extended between the ame board and the revoluble element an straddling the path of said abutment.

In testimony whereof, we have signed our names to this specification, in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

LOUIS BLUM. J OHN KRUSE.

Witnesses EMIL KRAoH'r, H. J. Low.

an abut-. 

